Travis students – top of their class

Before they even have their diplomas and attend their high school prom, 51 students from Travis Early College High School will walk the stage with hundreds of San Antonio College graduates at Freeman Coliseum.

They will have earned associate degrees from SAC. An additional 37 students will graduate from Travis with at least 30 hours of college credit.

This program began with a freshman class of 125 students in the 2008-2009 school year. “We went out and recruited through middle schools in our district,” Principal Orlando Vera said.

Now, 25 students from outside SAISD are accepted each year. “The whole idea is to get them into a college setting,” Vera said.

We recently met up with four Travis students who will be among those attending the May 12 commencement. Andrew De Luna and Carlos Castañeda will be graduating with two degrees an Associate in Liberal Arts and General Science, while Derek Rodriguez and Vanessa Reyes will each earn their Associates degree in Liberal Arts.

“We actually go to the (college) campus,” De Luna said. “I don’t consider myself a high school student any more, I’ve taken two years worth of college.”

The four students have applied to some very prestigious universities. Castañeda is looking at UT-Austin, the University of Notre Dame and Baylor in the fall. Reyes also likes UT-Texas, Tufts University and Boston University. Rodriguez has Stanford University as his first choice. He already has the offer of a full ride from Texas A&M. De Luna is considering Yale or Notre Dame, where his sisters currently attend.

Vera said the first graduating class of Travis has been offered a combined $1.3 million in scholarships.

The 2012 graduating class will party with their first prom at a downtown hotel in May – a week after they walk the stage at the SAC commencement and a month before they graduate from high school.